


A Cure for the Common Cold Heart

by overworkedunderwhelmed



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Post-Season 2, Spoilers for Mayura, post-Mayura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 13:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16535444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overworkedunderwhelmed/pseuds/overworkedunderwhelmed
Summary: Adrien becomes observant.But -- you know -- notthatobservant.





	A Cure for the Common Cold Heart

Adrien frowned as he trudged inside the house after a long day. It seemed neverending crawl of lessons and a surprise photoshoot late this afternoon, punctuated by a surprise Akuma attack during the lunch break.

Maybe he _didn’t_ notice everything. 

He hadn’t entirely missed the way Nino and sometimes even Chloe would roll their eyes on the rare occasion he’d thought to ask what he’d missed when something had left him puzzled.

But even he’d noticed the not-so-subtle cough that Nathalie hadn’t seemed able to kick, even as the winter months had ended. It seemed like hardly a day had passed that the soft clearing of her throat peppered her usual morning schedule run down these days.

Adrien was sure his Father would have given Nathalie time to go to the doctor’s office if there was a need. But at least he could do something to help her feel a little better.

It was why he’d asked the Gorilla to stop on the way back from today’s photo shoot.

He couldn’t exactly stop and buy something for her during his occasional evening escapes -- the jar of honey and tea didn’t exactly fit inside the pocket of his magical suit. Neither did a wallet...

When he’d asked, the Gorilla had simply arched a pronounced brow. Grunting his assent, his bodyguard wordlessly wheeled off of their usual route. But even he had pulled alongside the small market with a smile as he waited behind the wheel.

Nathalie’s piercing blue eyes cut across the room -- seemingly as unfazed as ever as she’d monitored his ascent up the stairs. She looked down, scrolling expertly through the precise details on her tablet. “Your Father is expecting you to practice your piano piece for an hour this evening. You’ll have a recital at next week’s charity benefit.”

Adrien sighed, lifting the bag slightly off of his shoulder. “And of course, he’s expecting no mistakes.”

“Of course.” Nathalie arched a brow at this sass, raising a hand up to delicately cover a wheezy cough. “Not with as much as you’ve been practicing.”

Adrien just shook his head, softly smiling as he dug the small bag of tea and honey from his bag. “Here.”

Blinking, Nathalie looked down at the small paper bag that he’d pressed into her hands. “What’s this?”

“For your throat.” His lips curved upwards, continuing up the stairs to his room. 

One mission accomplished, Adrien pressed his back against the door, smirking as Plagg dove towards the mini-fridge.

Beaming, he set his bag beside his desk, rigging music player up beside the piano.

After such a long day, he wanted nothing more than to dash out into the night to patrol and keep Paris safe at Ladybug’s side.

* * *

With a soft smile of her own, Nathalie peered down into the bag, spotting the bags of tea she’d favored, a few lemons, and a rather pricey jar of honey. Had the kitchen told him of her preference?

Sweet as his gesture was, it was more impressive that Adrien had been canny enough to ask. 

Even a year ago, she wasn’t sure that he would have thought to do so. It spoke to how quickly he was growing up.

She shook her head, meeting Gabriel’s eyes as he’d exited his office.

“Adrien is home?”

Nathalie nodded tersely, carefully masking any hint of her cough. “He’s just arrived. He’ll have piano practice and homework for the rest of his evening.” 

“Good. Good.” Gabriel murmured, notching his hands behind his back. Hesitating, he narrowed his eyes, as is unsure as to how best to proceed. 

Finally, he turned on his heel, pausing with his hand on his office door. “If you have a moment, then, Nathalie, I believe I have a project that will need your expertise.”

Nathalie beamed, gripping the bag Adrien had given to her a little more firmly as a balm against the itch rising again at the back of her throat. “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be right up.”


End file.
